Poker in AC

[DaBurglar]

This past weeks Borgata 100k guaranteed was a bust for both myself and my brother....we were both the victims or suckouts on the river:  In my Brother's case the guy who beat him had 8 outs on the river so it was not a total surprise, just depressing.  In my case I got beat with a two outer on the river so that completely blew big time.   Oh well such is poker....you need skill but you also need a heaping dose of luck at some point in order to go deep into the money. Later on, playing a short sit'n'go at showboat, we talked to a dealer named "Randy" who shared some unappetizing news about the state of Poker in AC:    He said the Borgata is the center of the Poker Universe on the east coast, which we already knew.   But sadly it attracts teams of players who enter the big money tourneys and work together throughout, and then split whatever profit they gain.   Illegal?  yes.....easy to catch or prove or verify?  Nope, especially since the NJ gaming commission is so completely overwhelmed it seems with its job. The dealer, and his boss the poker room supervisor, are both veterans of the industry, having worked for Boyd for over 35 years between them before joining Caesars, and they both said, if you want to play in Big money tourneys, Vegas (and Reno) are really the safest, unless it is also a WPT sponsored event at some other card playing locale. One of the big reasons teams work so well these days at certain casinos is the practice of casinos to offer multiple "Rebuys" or "Re-entries" to tourneys, usually for the first 5 to 7 levels or for a two to three hour time limit, which means you get a lot of players just playing silly crazy hands until the rebuys stop because if they bust out they can always re-up.    Im sure you can all see how this takes the skill out of the game and essentially makes it a huge "video poker" experience until the rebuys stop!    it also makes it truly hard to spot the teams because, in a free for all, just what or what isnt "suspicious" behavior or collusion??? anyone else out there have any poker stories to share?

[olds442jetaway]

No live poker stories for me, but I have a follow up on your other post about ac. Just a little update that is all.

[BillyJoe]

This past weeks Borgata 100k guaranteed was a bust for both myself and my brother....we were both the victims or suckouts on the river:  In my Brother's case the guy who beat him had 8 outs on the river so it was not a total surprise, just depressing.  In my case I got beat with a two outer on the river so that completely blew big time.   Oh well such is poker....you need skill but you also need a heaping dose of luck at some point in order to go deep into the money.
 
Later on, playing a short sit'n'go at showboat, we talked to a dealer named "Randy" who shared some unappetizing news about the state of Poker in AC:    He said the Borgata is the center of the Poker Universe on the east coast, which we already knew.   But sadly it attracts teams of players who enter the big money tourneys and work together throughout, and then split whatever profit they gain.   Illegal?  yes.....easy to catch or prove or verify?  Nope, especially since the NJ gaming commission is so completely overwhelmed it seems with its job.
 
The dealer, and his boss the poker room supervisor, are both veterans of the industry, having worked for Boyd for over 35 years between them before joining Caesars, and they both said, if you want to play in Big money tourneys, Vegas (and Reno) are really the safest, unless it is also a WPT sponsored event at some other card playing locale.
 
One of the big reasons teams work so well these days at certain casinos is the practice of casinos to offer multiple "Rebuys" or "Re-entries" to tourneys, usually for the first 5 to 7 levels or for a two to three hour time limit, which means you get a lot of players just playing silly crazy hands until the rebuys stop because if they bust out they can always re-up.    Im sure you can all see how this takes the skill out of the game and essentially makes it a huge "video poker" experience until the rebuys stop!    it also makes it truly hard to spot the teams because, in a free for all, just what or what isnt "suspicious" behavior or collusion???
 
anyone else out there have any poker stories to share?
"Teaming" at live poker is nothing new, Burglar. It happens reqularly everywhere, even here in sleepy Tampa. That is why I never play Hold 'Em cash games - only casino-sponsored tournaments.
 
I played in one at The Beau in Biloxi this past weekend, part of a golf event there. I finished 20th out of 100 players. I was knocked out holding 4 9's, losing to a straight flush.  

[DaBurglar]

   "Teaming" at live poker is nothing new, Burglar. It happens reqularly everywhere, even here in sleepy Tampa. That is why I never play Hold 'Em cash games - only casino-sponsored tournaments.
 
I played in one at The Beau in Biloxi this past weekend, part of a golf event there. I finished 20th out of 100 players. I was knocked out holding 4 9's, losing to a straight flush.  Yes, I know teaming is nothing new, and teaming can and does happen even in the CASINO-SPONSORED tournaments that you favor Billyjoe.....that is what my brother and I were involved in at Borgata last week, but as you well know Billyjoe, teaming is much easier in a cash game than it is in a tournament!BUT.....losing with Quad 9s to a straight flush??!?!?!        are you serious, or even sure Billyjoe (lol   you sure you werent the victim of more MAKERS MARK poisoning?!?!?  )      The reason I say all this is you just described a typical "BAD BEAT"  scenario. and normally you, and all the players at the table, would be the lucky winners of some type of jackpot!       ALL  the casinos in AC, and most in Vegas, have ongoing BAD BEAT JACKPOTS whereby, if someone loses in the fashion you just described, everyone at the table (or even everyone in the POKER ROOM ITSELF!) wins a share of the Bad Beat Jackpot, with the actual loser (i.e. Bad Beater) taking home half the jackpot and the other half split accordingly.     Most jackpots reach $400K-$500K and beyond when they actually get hit, although it varies widely from casino to casino depending on how big, popular and active the card room is at that casino.......

[Vman96]

Um, never getting paid for a bad beat if he is playing in a casino-sponsored tournament. Nevertheless, that would be the worst beatõ I've ever seen live or online.   

[DaBurglar]

Um, never getting paid for a bad beat if he is playing in a casino-sponsored tournament. Nevertheless, that would be the worst beatõ I've ever seen live or online.   
  In AC, several casinos have bad beat jackpots for BOTH cash play and tournament play, but obviously the bad beat jackpot for cash play would be far more money.    The trop has both bad beats going usually, Harrahs in the past has had two bad beat jackpots, and so has Bally's/ I know, with cash games, the minimum qualifying bad beat hand scenario at the Trop-AC is quad 8s being cracked, whereby BOTH the cracker and the crackeee have to use BOTH hole cards to complete the hands involved in the bad beat. In fact now I remember, until recently in AC,  all four CET properties had the SAME bad beat jackpot(s) being fed by all four properties, (bally, Caesar, showboat, harrahs), and when it was hit in one poker room, all four poker rooms got something.    Only for the cash game......tourney bad beats obviously remain local.

[BillyJoe]

[QUOTE=billyjoe]  

"Teaming" at live poker is nothing new, Burglar. It happens reqularly everywhere, even here in sleepy Tampa. That is why I never play Hold 'Em cash games - only casino-sponsored tournaments.
 
I played in one at The Beau in Biloxi this past weekend, part of a golf event there. I finished 20th out of 100 players. I was knocked out holding 4 9's, losing to a straight flush.  
Yes, I know teaming is nothing new, and teaming can and does happen even in the CASINO-SPONSORED tournaments that you favor Billyjoe.....that is what my brother and I were involved in at Borgata last week, but as you well know Billyjoe, teaming is much easier in a cash game than it is in a tournament!

BUT.....losing with Quad 9s to a straight flush??!?!?!        are you serious, or even sure Billyjoe (lol   you sure you werent the victim of more MAKERS MARK poisoning?!?!?  )      The reason I say all this is you just described a typical "BAD BEAT"  scenario. and normally you, and all the players at the table, would be the lucky winners of some type of jackpot!       ALL  the casinos in AC, and most in Vegas, have ongoing BAD BEAT JACKPOTS whereby, if someone loses in the fashion you just described, everyone at the table (or even everyone in the POKER ROOM ITSELF!) wins a share of the Bad Beat Jackpot, with the actual loser (i.e. Bad Beater) taking home half the jackpot and the other half split accordingly.     Most jackpots reach $400K-$500K and beyond when they actually get hit, although it varies widely from casino to casino depending on how big, popular and active the card room is at that casino.......
[/QUOTE]
I wish there was a "Bad Beat" pool, but since this was a one-day Saturday night event, with golf the next day, there was no pot. The tournament was held in one of their ballrooms, not the poker room, so I couldn't even get some sympathy from other players.  
 
I did order another drink after that, though...